Open a Company in Albania as an Indian Citizen

Introduction

Albania is not the first country most Indian founders think of when they plan a base in Europe — and that is exactly why it deserves a closer look. It is a European country with its own currency, a single national business register and company law that treats foreign owners in the same way as Albanian ones. For an entrepreneur from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru or Hyderabad, it can be a practical first step into the European market, a holding point for a service business, or simply a place to live and work for a few years.

At the same time, an Indian founder starts from a different position than a European one. You need a visa to enter Albania unless you hold certain visas or permits from other countries, your Indian documents must be prepared in a specific way before Albanian institutions accept them, and the right to live in Albania is a separate question from the right to own a company there.

This guide is written for Indian citizens who want to open a company in Albania. It explains, in the order you will meet them:

• how entry and visas work for Indian passport holders
• how to prepare Indian documents with an apostille
• which company form fits your plans
• the registration process step by step
• residence permits linked to your company
• what to expect when opening a bank account
• your accounting and tax obligations after registration
• common mistakes and our professional advice

We do not quote prices or processing times on this page, because both depend on your documents and your route. When you are ready, we look at your case and give you a written quote.

Why Indian Entrepreneurs Look at Albania

Every founder has their own reasons, but these are the ones that matter most for founders from India.

A European base without a local partner

Albanian law allows a foreign citizen to own and manage an Albanian company. There is no requirement to bring in an Albanian shareholder, which matters to founders who have seen joint-venture rules in other markets. You keep full control of your company and its decisions.

One register for the whole country

Companies are registered at the National Business Center (QKB), which also assigns the tax number (NIPT) and notifies the tax administration and social insurance. For a founder used to dealing with several authorities, a single point of registration makes the process easier to plan.

A practical location

Albania sits on the Adriatic and Ionian coast, between Italy and Greece, and is an EU candidate country. Many Indian service businesses — software, design, back-office, consulting — use an Albanian company to work with European clients from a European address and in a European time zone.

An English-speaking business environment

We work with foreign founders in English, from the first WhatsApp message to the monthly accounting reports. Official filings are in Albanian, and that is the part we take care of.

Entry and Visa for Indian Citizens

Indian citizens need a visa to enter Albania. The application is made online on the official portal e-visa.al.

When you do not need an Albanian visa

There is an important exception. You can enter Albania without an Albanian visa if you hold:

• a valid multiple-entry Schengen, US or UK visa that you have already used at least once to enter the country that issued it, or
• a valid residence permit issued by a Schengen country, the United States or the United Kingdom.

In these cases the visa-free stay is limited to 90 days within any 180-day period. If you already travel on one of these visas, check whether yours meets the conditions before you start an Albanian visa application.

Staying longer to run your business

A short visit is enough to sign documents and meet partners, but not to live in Albania and run the company. Long stays are governed by Law no. 79/2021 “On Foreigners” and Council of Ministers Decision no. 858 of 29.12.2021. The long-stay (Type D) visas defined there include a visa for self-employed persons (D/VP) and a visa for investors (D/I).

→ Read our complete guide to Albanian visas

Documents and the Apostille

Albanian institutions — the QKB, notaries, banks and the migration authorities — accept foreign public documents only when their origin is certified. For India this is done with an apostille.

Because India is a party to the Apostille Convention, a public document issued in India is certified by the competent Indian authority with an apostille, and that apostille replaces legalisation by the Albanian embassy. In practice this removes one step that founders from non-Convention countries still have to go through.

Which documents usually matter

Exactly which documents you need depends on what you are doing — founding a company in your own name, founding it through an Indian company, applying for a visa or for a residence permit. Typical examples:

• your passport (a notarised copy is used in Albania)
• a power of attorney, if someone signs for you in Albania
• for an Indian parent company: its certificate of incorporation, its constitutional documents and a board resolution approving the Albanian company or branch
• for a residence permit: documents linked to your personal situation

Documents in English are often not enough on their own: Albanian procedures work in Albanian. Send us your list before you start — we tell you which papers need an apostille and whether you also need a certified Albanian translation.

Company Options for Indian Founders

Albanian law offers several forms. For Indian founders, three are relevant in practice:

Most Indian founders choose the Sh.p.k.: it separates your personal assets from the business, it can have one or several shareholders of any nationality, and it is the form Albanian banks and partners know best. A branch makes sense when your Indian company wants to operate in Albania under its own name; a subsidiary (an Sh.p.k. owned by your Indian company) is often the cleaner alternative because liability stays in Albania.

→ Read about company setup for foreign companies

Opening the Company Step by Step

The process is the same for every nationality; what changes for Indian founders is mainly the preparation of documents in India. Here is how it runs when we handle it:

1. Consultation and choice of structure. We discuss what the company will do, who owns it and whether you or your Indian company is the founder, and agree the legal form.
2. Document list. We send you the exact list of Indian documents, with instructions on the apostille and the spelling of names.
3. Apostille in India. You obtain the apostilles from the competent Indian authority and send us scans for a check before the originals travel.
4. Translation and notarisation in Albania. Certified Albanian translations are prepared and the founding documents are signed before a notary — by you in person or by your representative under a power of attorney.
5. Registration at the QKB. We file the application; the QKB registers the company and assigns its NIPT, and the registration is passed on to the tax administration and social insurance.
6. After registration. Bank account, access to the tax portal, VAT registration if it applies, any licence your activity needs, and the start of monthly accounting.

We do not publish fixed durations: the Albanian part depends on complete documents, and the Indian part depends on how quickly your apostilles are issued.

→ Our Sh.p.k. and NIPT registration service

Residence Permit Through Your Company

Owning an Albanian company does not by itself give you the right to live in Albania. Residence is governed by Law no. 79/2021 “On Foreigners” and its implementing decisions, and the permit you can apply for depends on your purpose of stay and your role in the company — owner, administrator or employee.

For Indian citizens this usually means planning two things together: the long-stay visa (for example the D/VP visa for self-employed persons or the D/I visa for investors) and the residence permit that follows once you are in Albania. We confirm the right route for your case before you apply, so that the company you register supports the permit you need.

→ Read our residence and work permit service

Opening a Bank Account

A business bank account is one of the first things your company needs, and for many foreign founders it is the step that requires the most patience. Albanian banks decide on each client individually; nobody can promise that a particular bank will open an account.

What Indian founders should expect:

• Know-your-customer checks on the company, its shareholders and its administrators, including questions about the source of funds and the planned activity
• Indian documents prepared the Albanian way — apostilled and, where required, translated — because banks apply the same document rules as other institutions
• A plan for your visit: many banks want to meet the administrator in person, so align the visit with your visa situation (or your Schengen, US or UK visa)
• Consistent names and addresses across your passport, your Indian address proof and the company documents

We prepare the company file the way banks expect it and help you choose where to apply.

→ Read our guide to banking for foreigners

Accounting and Tax After Registration

From the day the QKB registers your company, it has accounting and tax obligations in Albania — even before it issues its first invoice. Declarations are filed electronically, and a company with no activity still files them.

For a founder who lives in India, this is the part that is easiest to underestimate. Our team keeps the books, prepares and files the declarations, runs payroll if you hire staff, prepares the annual financial statements and sends you reports in English. If you also have obligations in India, we work with your Indian accountant so that both sides see the same figures.

• monthly bookkeeping and tax declarations
• VAT registration and returns where they apply
• payroll and social contributions for employees
• annual financial statements filed electronically
• reports in English for you and your Indian advisers

→ Our accounting and tax service

→ Read our guide to taxes for foreigners in Albania

Practical Examples

Two illustrative scenarios show how the pieces fit together. They are examples, not real client cases.

Mistakes to Avoid

Professional Advice

These points make the biggest difference when you set up a company from India:

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

For an Indian entrepreneur, Albania offers a clear path to a company in Europe: full foreign ownership, a single business register and documents that travel with an apostille. The points that need care are the ones specific to your nationality — the visa or its exemption, the preparation of Indian documents and a residence permit planned together with the company.

Take them in the right order and the rest becomes routine. We are happy to look at your plans and tell you exactly what applies to you.